Shōryū-ji Castle
Shōryū-ji Castle (勝龍寺城) is a castle in the city of Nagaokakyō in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. During the Sengoku period, it was situated in Shōryūji in the Yamashiro province.
History[edit | edit source]
In 1568, Oda Nobunaga, along with Ashikaga Yoshiaki, conquered Kyoto from the Miyoshi clan, starting with Shōryū-ji Castle. After its conquest, Nobunaga entrusted the castle to Hosokawa Fujitaka, who rebuilt its defenses in 1571. In 1578, the castle served as the honeymoon residence for Fujitaka's son Hosokawa Tadaoki and Akechi Tama, daughter of Akechi Mitsuhide. In 1581, the Hosokawa moved from the castle to Miyazu Castle in Tamba.[1]
On 21 June 1582, the Iga kunoichi Fujibayashi Naoe met with Mitsuhide and his son-in-law Ise Sadaoki at the village outside the castle for their planned attack on Nobunaga, who was visiting Kyoto's Honnō-ji temple. Unknown to Naoe, both Mitsuhide and Sadaoki were part of a secret organization called the Shinbakufu and tricked Naoe into believing Nobunaga was its leader.[2]
Following Nobunaga's death, Mitsuhide quickly took over Shōryū-ji Castle and used it as his base of operations for his claim to lead Japan.[1] However, Mitsuhide soon remained the only active member of the Shinbakufu due to the interference of Naoe and her fellow Kakushiba ikki member Yasuke, who hunted down the shadowy organization.[3]
By 2 July, Hashiba Hideyoshi and his forces planned to attack Mitsuhide at the castle to avenge Nobunaga's death.[4] Joining Hideyoshi in his siege of the castle, Naoe and Yasuke fought through Akechi soldiers until they reached Mitsuhide, who fled after leaving behind several guards to fend off the pair. However, Naoe and Yasuke defeated the guards and chased after Mitsuhide.[3]
At some point, Naoe and Yasuke returned to the castle, eliminated three of its samurai daisho, looted the Yurei-Walker Robes from its treasure chest, and climbed atop the tenshu to survey the land.[5] They also recovered one of Kanō Eitoku's paintings so they could return it to him in Kyoto.[6]
Following his victory over Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi claimed Shōryū-ji Castle. However, the fortress gradually fell into disrepair and became abandoned, with the exception of a brief period of time in the first half of the 17th century. Some walls and moats have been preserved, but no trace of the castle's keep remains in the present day.[1]
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Database image of the castle and its surroundings
Appearances[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Database: Shoryu-ji
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Temple of the Horseman
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Topple the Traitor
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – The Peasant Who Would Be King
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Art Collector